TY - JOUR
T1 - The York Gospels
T2 - a 1000-year biological palimpsest
AU - Teasdale, Matthew D.
AU - Fiddyment, Sarah
AU - Vnouček, Jiří
AU - Mattiangeli, Valeria
AU - Speller, Camilla
AU - Binois, Annelise
AU - Carver, Martin
AU - Dand, Catherine
AU - Newfield, Timothy P.
AU - Webb, Christopher C.
AU - Bradley, Daniel G.
AU - Collins, Matthew James
PY - 2017/10/25
Y1 - 2017/10/25
N2 - Medieval manuscripts, carefully curated and conserved, represent not only an irreplaceable documentary record but also a remarkable reservoir of biological information. Palaeographic and codicological investigation can often locate and date these documents with remarkable precision. The York Gospels (York Minster Ms. Add. 1) is one such codex, one of only a small collection of pre-conquest Gospel books to have survived the Reformation. By extending the non-invasive triboelectric (eraser-based) sampling technique eZooMS, to include the analysis of DNA, we report a cost-effective and simple-to-use biomolecular sampling technique for parchment. We apply this combined methodology to document for the first time a rich palimpsest of biological information contained within the York Gospels, which has accumulated over the 1000-year lifespan of this cherished object that remains an active participant in the life of York Minster. These biological data provide insights into the decisions made in the selection of materials, the construction of the codex and the use history of the object.
AB - Medieval manuscripts, carefully curated and conserved, represent not only an irreplaceable documentary record but also a remarkable reservoir of biological information. Palaeographic and codicological investigation can often locate and date these documents with remarkable precision. The York Gospels (York Minster Ms. Add. 1) is one such codex, one of only a small collection of pre-conquest Gospel books to have survived the Reformation. By extending the non-invasive triboelectric (eraser-based) sampling technique eZooMS, to include the analysis of DNA, we report a cost-effective and simple-to-use biomolecular sampling technique for parchment. We apply this combined methodology to document for the first time a rich palimpsest of biological information contained within the York Gospels, which has accumulated over the 1000-year lifespan of this cherished object that remains an active participant in the life of York Minster. These biological data provide insights into the decisions made in the selection of materials, the construction of the codex and the use history of the object.
KW - Ancient DNA
KW - EZooMS
KW - Microbiome
KW - Molecular codicology
KW - Parchment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85032341233&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1098/rsos.170988
DO - 10.1098/rsos.170988
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29134095
AN - SCOPUS:85032341233
SN - 2054-5703
VL - 4
JO - Royal Society Open Science
JF - Royal Society Open Science
IS - 10
M1 - 170988
ER -